


David's Memories: I Leave the World Behind

by jbhughes54enwiler



Series: David's Memories [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Plot Twists, Series Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22727542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbhughes54enwiler/pseuds/jbhughes54enwiler
Summary: This is the conclusion of the David's Memories series.  In the previous installment, we dealt mainly with David's relationship with Pearl.  This time, the focus is on the bond David and Rose Quartz shared.  This story takes place during the last couple days of David's time in his native dimension.  After this, it's off to Steven's Universe for some good ol' Universe therapy.
Series: David's Memories [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1591399
Kudos: 1





	David's Memories: I Leave the World Behind

DAVID’S MEMORIES 04

I LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND

  
  


Rose: Hey, David.

David is napping soundly on the pile of blankets that served as his bed. Despite Rose calling his name, he remains in his slumber. His clothes had many rips on them; they had taken some damage in more recent training exercises with Holo-Pearl and her duplicate friends. Any cuts to his flesh were swiftly healed by Rose, but magic tears are incapable of repairing fabric, so the damage to his shirt and jeans remained.

Rose: (Gently pokes him) Daaaavid? Come on, little guy.

David: Unuggh… (His eyes peek open a little bit) Mom…?

Rose: No, silly, I’m Rose! Come on and wake up, there’s something I want to show you.

David reluctantly gets up, stretching and wiping his eyes.

David: This better be good.

Rose: Shh… It’s a surprise. Follow me! Grab your sword on your way out.

The late afternoon sun is shining through the entrance to the cave that the remains of the Crystal Gems make their home in. This is the only time of day sunlight shines all the way into the cave. David passes Garnet on the way out. She says nothing to him, though she seems even more absent then she usually is. Something’s bothering her. Before he can ask what’s wrong, Rose beckons for David to meet her outside the cave.

The view outside is stunning. Beyond the canyon in front of the entrance, the ground level is much lower, and a nearly boundless forest stretches out in front of David and Rose, a sea of green that almost makes David forget that the world beyond the woods is fallen and dead. A flock of birds in the distance take flight, rising like a cloud above the treetops and moving as one away into the horizon.

Rose: Over here, David!

David approaches Rose. That turns out to be a mistake. Without warning, Rose locks David into a bear hug, almost stifling him, though he knew Rose would never hurt him.

Rose: Don’t ever forget how much I love you!

Those words, unbeknownst to Rose, set off a memory within David.

David’s Mom: (Within his head) Don’t ever forget how much I love you… (As she tucks a young David in at night)

David rapidly tears up and sobs into Rose’s dress. Rose is startled, taken by surprise at the sudden intrusion of sadness into David’s being.

Rose: (Lets go of David and kneels down to his level) What’s wrong? Why are you crying, my child?

David: (Tears streaming down his cheeks, his voice broken) N-nothing, Rose… (Wipes his eyes) You j-just remind me of my mom is all…

Rose: And you remind me of my old lover… I miss him too… Tell me again about the place where humans go when they die, David.

David: My mom always told me… When a human dies, his soul is separated from his body, and it departs for the next life… We always hope that our next incarnation will be in a paradise, where everything is perfect. A land where food is abundant and smiles are everywhere… (His tear production gets more intense) That’s where my mom is, Rose… A-and when I die, I’ll be with her again! We’ll never have to worry about anything!

Rose: (Now crying herself a bit) And my Greg, my wonderful little man… He’s playing his guitar up there with her… He must be so happy! I wish I could join him, but… I’m a Gem… I don’t die, I shatter…

This time it’s David who hugs Rose, the two of them sharing their sorrow. A few minutes later, when there are no tears left to cry, David and Rose get up.

David: What did you really bring me out here for, Rose? You don’t wake me up just to hug me and cause a scene.

Rose: Oh, right! I almost forgot! Follow me, David! (She takes off across the ledge)

David runs off after Rose. About a quarter mile down the edge of the cliff, the rocky terrain turns to grass, and soon, trees follow. The forest’s trees are tall, though not quite as tall as the ones that used to stand in his former hometown, and unlike Henleaf Town’s famous trees, these don’t change colors in the fall. They simply shed their leaves in winter without any of the pageantry. Close to the beginning of the woods stands an apple tree, though since David makes many trips to this plant, there’s not many fruits left on its branches.

David: Where are you taking me, Rose? Is this another holly bush? You know I can’t eat those berries, I’ll end up vomiting again!

Rose: You’ll see!

About half a mile later, Rose comes to a stop. David soon catches up after almost losing her in the brush.

Rose: Here it is, David! Isn’t it beautiful? (Motions to a large group of bushes in front of her)

David steps closer to one of the plants, and his eyes widen when he sees the fruit it’s producing. Large, plump, and deep-red. Fragaria genus… Coincidentally part of the rose family... He hadn’t seen one of these in so long!

David: (Unable to contain his excitement) Strawberries! My favorite!

Rose: I knew you’d love it! Have all you want, and tomorrow, we’ll come out here with a basket and harvest them!

David enthusiastically eats his fill of the sweet fruit, and he and Rose retreat to the cave. Inside, he turns on his lantern. David is slightly, inexplicably dizzy.

David: Thanks for finding those bushes, Rose!

Rose: (Lets out a short laugh) You’re welcome, David. We’ll go out tomorrow at noon and pick some more. (She looks like she remembers something) I gotta go do something. I'll see you in a bit! (Exit Rose)

David’s dizziness intensifies. He doesn’t know what’s causing it, but he figures it’s nothing some sleep won’t fix. He settles into his bed and closes his eyes.

David: GAAHH!!

David is falling. Below him is a bed of spiky stalagmites. Contact with one at this speed would spell instant death by impalement. He has five to ten seconds until impact. He flails around, looking for something, anything to grab onto. Suddenly, a hand appears out of nowhere and grabs his own. His fall is immediately suspended. David looks up. Connected to the hand is Rose, but it is also not Rose. He notices that “Rose” has his mother’s face, and is flying by way of the angel’s wings on her back.

David: (Genuinely confused) Mom?

Rose Heatherson: Hello, my son! I made it just in time!

David: What the hell is going on!? Why are you dressed as Rose? Where’d the wings come from?

Jennifer Quartz: All in due time, David! Let’s get you out of here! (Begins to fly forward, carrying a dangling David along with her)

“Mom” deposits David on a ledge and suddenly the scene transforms into a distorted amalgamation of Henleaf Town and the Diamond Base. David is extremely weirded out.

David: What was in those strawberries!?

Mom Quartz: Heaping amounts of my love for you, my sweet boy!

David: MooOmm…! I don’t feel so GoOd… (Begins to get dizzy)

Rose Mom: You’ll be just fine! Fine! Fiiiinnnneee!! (The world around her begins to glitch out)

Meanwhile, in the real world…

David is shaking and muttering incomprehensibly in his sleep. Pearl notices this and calls Rose Quartz over.

Pearl: Rose, what did you feed David this time?

Rose: Strawberries, Pearl. Nothing that a human can’t digest. He loved them!

Pearl: Well something’s not right with him.

Rose touches David’s forehead. There’s no fever, but David is strangely sweating. She licks her finger, tasting the sweat. Her eyes widen when she recognizes the chemical in her mouth, and quickly spits it out.

Rose: I’d know these symptoms anywhere. Those strawberries were a trap. I’ve seen Gems use this compound before to capture organics while colonizing a planet. David’s been drugged, and I was too STUPID to prevent it! (She swipes the berry basket off of the table in her rage)

Pearl: Is there any way of waking him up?

Rose: There’s no cure. Not even my tears will work on it. We’ll just have to wait for the chemicals to wear off. (Slams the table) WHY didn’t I NOTICE this when I was scouting the forest!?

Pearl: (Fear beginning to set in) If the plant life in the area’s been treated with this product, then the Homeworld Gems must know there’s a human living in this area! It’s only a matter of time until they discover the cave, and then it’s all over for us! We should relocate at once!

Rose: I agree. Tell Garnet to start searching for a new base location. It’ll have to be a place with facilities nearby David would need to function, like fruit-bearing plants and a source of fresh water.

Meanwhile, David is running from the glitches chasing him, who are being led by the Rose-Mom hybrid.

David: Mom, please stop!

“Mom:” (Distorted voice) Relax, David. Everything’s going to be okay!

David: (Now crying from fear, his panic had reached its limit) MOOOMMM!! (A brown bubble suddenly surrounds him)

David, not expecting the sudden genesis of Gem powers in his very human body, tumbles around inside the bubble as it rolls to a stop. He stands up, and draws his sword from a brown glowing spot on his chest, which made him feel weird. He can’t figure out how to pop his bubble though, so he can’t attack. The glitches, taking the form of lions, pounce onto the bubble and scratch at it, but are unable to pierce the forcefield. “Mom” looks on with a confused face at her suddenly-superpowered son.

“Mom:” Well this is interesting…

David: Wait, what does Rose do when she attacks with her bubble…? … Oh, right!

David thrusts his hands out, a look of concentration on his face. Suddenly, sharp spikes pop out of his bubble.

David: En...GAARRDDDEE!! (Rolls over the lions with the spiky bubble)

The lions “poof” like Gems as he runs over the glitch-creatures.

“Mom:” NO!! (She produces a blackened copy of Rose Quartz’s sword)

David: (Comes to a stop) Mom, please stop! I won’t fight you! I don’t want to hurt you!

“Mom” ignores him, and charges the bubbled young man, her sword gleaming in the light. The blade pierces straight through David’s bubble, popping it and knocking him to the ground, and causing him to drop his sword.

David: M-mom…?

But she wasn’t mom or Rose anymore. In her place was Evil Quartz, a triumphant grin on her face.

Evil Quartz: I’ll make this quick. (Slices at David’s neck, beheading him)

David: (Now awake) GAAHHHHH!!! (His scream echoes out of the cave)

Rose and Pearl quickly run to David’s bedside. Pearl looks worried that someone outside the cave may have heard his scream, but Rose was overcome with relief.

Rose: Thank goodness you’re awake! I’m so sorry; I should have tested those strawberries before-- (Looks at David)

David: …………... (Is shivering and quite shaken from his ordeal)

Rose: Oh, come here, everything’s okay now… (Hugs David) It was just a bad dream, okay?

David: (Gingerly hugs her back) H-how long was I out…?

Pearl: It’s two hours past noon. The drugs in those strawberries kept you asleep for quite some time. You should probably get something to eat. (Leaves)

David unsteadily gets up. He notices that his clothes are soaked with sweat.

David: Ugh… Gross…

He walks over to the food cabinet and grabs a loaf of bread. He glumly chews on a piece of it, in his usual post-nightmare funk. Garnet, in the background, seems to be completely lost in her future vision. Rose comes over to him.

Rose: I… Found another berry bush while you were out. I think you humans call them raspberries? I tested them too, they’re safe. Want to go harvest it?

David: ...Sure, why not.

He gets up, and walks to the table where the basket is, and grabs it.

45 minutes later…

Dark clouds swirl above the treetops as David and Rose pick raspberries from a bush in the woods.

David: Hey, Rose? I think a storm’s kicking up.

Rose: Garnet said it would pass by us… We’re fine.

But it wasn’t fine. Within minutes, the rain came down in sheets.

David: Gah! You were saying, Rose?

Rose: I guess Garnet was reading the wrong timeline!

Without warning, a massive flash of light blinds the both of them, and an ear-shattering explosion causes David to go temporarily deaf.

Rose: David! Are you okay?

David can’t hear her. He also can’t hear the sound of splintering as a nearby tree begins to tilt towards the human. Rose wastes no time and dashes for David, tackling him as the trunk slammed into the ground just inches from them, throwing wet dirt all over their bodies. David scrambles to his feet and runs with Rose back towards the compound. Lightning flashes all around them. Left behind is the basket full of raspberries.

Several minutes later, they reach the cliffs. Rose, in her desperation, is running faster than David can keep up with. He glances at the river in the bottom of the canyon. It is frothing, a strong current pushing water through with staggering natural power.

David: Rose! Slow down! 

Rose complies. But a few steps later, David slips. He had been running too close to the edge of the cliff, and his body tumbles over the edge. Screaming, he desperately latches onto a root sticking out of the side of the ledge with both hands.

David: ROOSEE!!

Rose hears him and dashes over, and lays belly-down over the ledge, her arm reaching out for David. The root is slippery, and David can’t hold on for much longer.

Rose: David! You have to reach for my hand!

David knows that he can’t use one of his hands without slipping more. He feels Rose’s magic tears hitting his face in addition to the falling raindrops. Everything slows down. David stares straight into Rose’s eyes, his own eyes empty, and fearful. A couple seconds later, David finally loses his grip on the root, and he plunges into the river below. His eyes never leave Rose’s, not wanting his last sights to be anything but her.

David: AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

Rose: DAAAVIIIIDDD!!!!!

Seemingly an eternity later, David hits the water, an icy coldness soaking into David’s body. He struggles against the torrent, but it carries him in its grip, headfirst downstream. It takes all the strength in him just to keep his head above the surface. Above the sound of the raging water he hears Rose frantically calling his name, but he knows that there’s nothing she can do now. He is at the river’s mercy. Suddenly, David’s head collides with a rock sticking out of the river, and he goes limp.

Black screen…………………………………………………………………………..

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


End Memor--

A dark blur rushes through the water straight for David’s body stuck, unconscious, on the rock. It captures David, and, fighting the stream all the way, takes him to shore. The dark figure pants on the beach next to David who is breathing in a shallow fashion. Thankfully he hadn't taken any water into his lungs before the shadow rescued him. 

The figure comes into focus, revealing that the mysterious being is… David. This David, well into his thirties, is rippled with muscle, his increased strength having allowed him to stand up to the water current, and in his hand is a disc-like device. A thin layer of facial hair covers his chin.

In the distance, Rose’s increasingly desperate cries for David ring out. She was now on the ground level of the river, heading straight towards them. Older David raises his head towards her voice, and a somber look crosses his face. He crouches down and takes his younger self’s wet hand, and he fiddles with the controls on the disc’s surface.

Older David: I’m sorry, Rose… (Presses a diamond-shaped button)

A bubble of energy surrounds the two Davids, and it shrinks away to nothing, leaving a burst of wind behind. The storm rages on…

-Beach City, Steven’s Universe-

A flash of light on the empty beach fades to reveal David and his older self. The younger version of David was soundly out cold on the beach, his sword had been dislodged from its scabbard in the warp stream, and now it lay a few feet from him. Older David gently sets his other self's hand down on the sand. Above them, the noon sun sits at the top of the azure skies, with clouds and seagulls lazily floating overhead. In the distance lies the fully-intact Crystal Temple, with the beach house sitting at its base.

Older David: (Smiling warmly, he reaches down and brushes his younger self’s cheek) Don't ever forget how strong you truly are.

He takes out a globe with an hourglass inside of it from his pocket. Another flash of light, and older David disappears. 

-A few hours later-

A skinny body lay on the sandy beach in the afternoon. It was a 21-year-old young man dressed in tattered jeans and a ripped T-shirt. He had short brown hair and pale skin. Despite appearing to have been washed up from the ocean, his skin and clothing were perfectly dry. A teenager and a group of mysterious beings approached the man, who was still as if dead. A darkish pink greatsword lay at the man's side.

Steven: (Checks the man to see if he is breathing) Oh thank goodness, he's alive.

END MEMORY…


End file.
